On Campus: McDowell grad Rachel Marsden wins conference's softball award

McDowell graduate Rachel Marsden has been named Northeast Conference Pitcher of the Year as a junior with Saint Francis University.

Marsden completed the regular season with a 20-8 record as she led the conference in wins, complete games (22) and shutouts (7). Meanwhile, she finished among the NEC's top five with a 2.28 ERA and 142 strikeouts.

Marsden was selected to the all-NEC first team as a pitcher for the second year in a row. She also was named to the all-NEC second team as a designated player. During the regular season, she tied for second in the conference with 12 home runs and tied for third with 33 RBIs.

Her efforts helped the Red Flash win the NEC regular-season title as Saint Francis earned the right to host the conference's postseason tournament.

Marsden hit her 13th home run of the season Friday when Saint Francis rallied from a late, two-run deficit to beat Mount St. Mary's 8-6. The Red Flash then beat Long Island University 9-0 in the title game Saturday to win its fifth consecutive NEC title and secure a spot in the NCAA Division I tournament. Marsden did not pitch in that game.

Marsden was the four-time District 10 Softball Player of the Year at McDowell where she starred as both a pitcher and hitter. She was named the District 10 Female Athlete of the Year as a senior.

TRACK AND FIELD

Another former McDowell standout, Kalli Knott, had a big day at the Big East Track and Field Championships on Friday in Storrs, Connecticut.

The freshman at the University of Connecticut set a personal record as she earned the bonze medal in the pole vault.

Knott cleared 12 feet, 11.5 inches (3.95 meters) to claim third place. She actually tied for the second-best height in the event but finished third based on misses.

Her teammate, junior Emma Chee, won the event with a height of 13-7.25.

Knott starred as both a pole vaulter and diver with McDowell, winning multiple District 10 championships in each.

SOFTBALL

The Mercyhurst University softball team completed one of its best seasons ever.

The Lakers set a program record with 32 victories and advanced to the PSAC Championship and NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time in program history.

Mercyhurst (32-16) concluded its season at the Atlantic Regional with a 3-2 loss to West Virginia Wesleyan on Thursday and an 8-3 loss to Fairmont State on Friday.

Two Erie County products – Union City grad Eliza Reynolds and McDowell grad Kacie Irwin – were strong contributors to the team. Reynolds, a freshman, hit .382 with five homers and 16 RBIs. Irwin hit .275 with one homer and 10 RBIs.

● The Penn State Behrend softball team, the AMCC champion, opened the NCAA Division III tourney on Friday with a 5-0 loss to North Central in Angola, Indiana.

Behrend (23-15) then saw its season come to an end Saturday afternoon with a 3-1 loss to Wisconsin Eau-Claire.

BASEBALL

Both the Mercyhurst and Gannon baseball teams will have to claim at-large bids to advance to the NCAA Division II tournament after both bowed out of the PSAC tournament last week.

Mercyhurst (31-18) was eliminated Friday after a 6-1 loss to top-seeded Millersville and a 5-0 loss to East Stroudsburg.

Gannon (29-15) lost in a single-elimination game Wednesday in an 11-3 setback to East Stroudsburg.

The NCAA Division II Selection Show is scheduled for Sunday at 10 p.m.

● Mercyhurst's Josh Surowiec was named the PSAC West Baseball Athlete of the Year when the PSAC released its all-star team last week.

Surowiec led the PSAC with a .443 batting average, set a program record with 17 homers and drove in 56 runs. He also landed a spot on the all-PSAC West first team. Second baseman Troy Banks and outfielder Matthew Gibson also made the first team.

McDowell graduate Chris Juchno, a Mercyhurst freshman, made the all-PSAC West second team after hitting .284 with 12 homers and 24 RBIs.

Gannon had three honorees on the all-PSAC West baseball team, including Pitcher of the Year Eric Sapp. Infielder Ian Hess, Gannon's career home-run leader, joined Sapp as a first-team, all-PSAC West selection. Pitcher Deven Judy made the second team.

● McDowell graduate Jake Deitz hit a two-run single in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the top-seeded Penn State Behrend baseball team a 5-4 victory over No. 2 Mount Aloysius in the AMCC tournament on Saturday.

That win sent the Lions (27-11) into the AMCC Championship on their home field on Sunday at 11 a.m. Behrend needs only a victory in that game to clinch the AMCC title and secure a berth in the NCAA Division III tournament. Mount Aloysius would need to beat Behrend twice to win the title and advance. A second game would take place at 2 p.m.

COLLEGE COMMITMENTS

Cathedral Prep, Villa Maria and Fairview recently held signing ceremonies as 18 area student-athletes made their college commitments official to play sports at the next level.

The talent-rich Prep baseball team already had seven college commits in the lineup, and three more players committed recently with Reece Colvin going to Gannon, Tai Hopkins heading to Allegheny and Andrew Roach picking Fredonia.

The Prep ceremony included Avery Ball going to Cal U for hockey, Kelyn Blossey heading to West Virginia for football, Michael Parks picking Gannon for football and Kaemen Smith committing to Navy for wrestling.

Villa Maria had three commitments at the ceremony, including Molly Fehr to Gannon for water polo, Gracie Girts to Gannon for swimming and Madeline Parks to Mercyhurst for volleyball.

Fairview held a second signing ceremony within a week as eight athletes announced their college decisions. As previously reported, the boys basketball team was well-represented as Logan Frazao committed to Mount Union and James Sitter picked Edinboro. The successful boys soccer team had Richie DeArment commit to Elmhurst (Illinois) University and Joshua Howells sign with Gannon.

The other four commitments included Taylor Susman to Mercyhurst for football, Caroline Zentis to Edinboro for lacrosse, Lilly Sanders to Clarion for soccer and Gio Natalie to Allegheny for football.

MEDIA

Times-News reporter Tom Reisenweber recently was named the PSAC's Heaslip Award winner.

The honor goes annually to a media member who covers PSAC athletics. The award is named after George Heaslip, the late Cheyney University sports information director.

Reisenweber is an veteran, award-winning journalist who covers high school sports and the Erie SeaWolves, in addition to college sports.

He is the second Times-News journalist to win the award in the past 10 years. Former reporter John Dudley was honored in 2012.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: On Campus: McDowell grad Rachel Marsden wins NEC softball honor